Rapids Weekly Team Update

COMMERCE CITY CO (9/25/07) - The Rapids are training all this week at Dick's Sporting Goods Park ahead of this coming Saturday's pivotal match at New England.

In their last match your Rapids lost a hard-fought battle at the home stadium of arch-rivals Real Salt Lake their first loss in Utah since April of 2005 and missed a prime opportunity to jump up the standings in the race towards the MLS Cup Playoffs.

On Saturday your Rapids will be facing off against New England for the second time this season and will look to repeat their performace from their last encounter when the Rapids defeated the Revs 3-0 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on August 16. A win and three points in the standings are very important for pushing Colorado into potential playoff position.

The Rapids have not received any new injuries since last week. Pablo Mastroeni Mike Petke and Brandon Prideaux have all been removed from the injury report and will be available to play.

Forward Herculez Gomez is out for the rest of the season after tearing the ACL and lateral meniscus in his right knee in practice on September 12. Gomez had surgery to repair the damage and is expected to be out 6-9 months.

Defender Dan Gargan is out for the rest of the season after tearing his right ACL in the match against the New England Revolution on August 16. Gargan underwent successful surgery to repair the knee on Wednesday August 29 and is currently recovering and has started rehabilitation.

Head Coach Fernando Clavijo on the play of first time starters Stephen Keel and Kosuke Kimura in Saturday's match:

"I thought they did very well. They were put in a very difficult situation in a very difficult game. Overall their performances were good. You can not blame them for anything that happened in that game. It was very satisfying to see two young players make their first start and do as well as they did."

Clavijo on this coming weekend’s game at New England:

"This week we will not overwork the players. We will be playing on turf in New England on Saturday so the last couple of days of the week we will play on it to get back to what the field will be like. It is going to be a very difficult game but we feel comfortable with where we are going to be. We know we are going to be playing a very good team and we are going to try to get three points."

WEEKLY TEAM NOTES

Making Their First Starts: Stephen Keel and Kosuke Kimura both started their first MLS games on Saturday at Salt Lake. Keel had played in two previous games this season while Kimura made his professional debut. With the start Kimura became the first Japanese player to ever make an appearance in MLS history.

Away Game Viewing Party: Join other Rapids fans for the Official Away-Game Viewing Party for this Saturday’s game at New England at Sobo 151 located at 151 South Broadway (just north of Broadway and Alameda). There will be great food and drink specials for fans wearing Rapids gear and we'll see you there to watch the game live in a great soccer atmosphere!

Oct. 7 Now a Doubleheader: The Rapids Reserves game against the Toronto FC Reserves originally scheduled for Oct. 8 has been moved. The match will now be played approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first team game on Sunday October 7 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. All fans are encouraged to stay and cheer for the undefeated Rapids Reserves as they attempt to defend their MLS Reserve Division Championship.

Rapids on Altitude-2 Oct. 7: Because of a scheduling conflict with the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 7 the Rapids vs. Toronto FC game will be switched to Altitude 2. Altitude 2 can be seen on Comcast Denver channel 5 Comcast Colorado Springs channel 4 Dish Network channel 447 and DirecTv Channel 661. Other cable viewers can contact their providers to find what channel Altitude 2 is in their area.

Gomez Surgery Update: Herculez Gomez became the second Rapids player to tear his ACL this season when he did it in training 2 weeks ago. Gomez joins Dan Gargan on the season-ending injury list. The Las Vegas-raised Gomez tore his right ACL and the lateral meniscus in the same knee. He had surgery to repair it and will be out 6-9 months.